How to setup & use a FileZilla FTP Server

[Fourth]

How to setup & use a FileZilla FTP Server

Introduction:

There seemed to me some need for a guide to setting up a FTP server for at-home or over-the-internet use. As per the rules of this server: any discussion in this thread should pertain most directly to the guide itself or use of the server. Please don't discuss anything illegal or against the rules of this forum and get this guide locked.

Also, this post is somewhat of a "living" document as I keep it updated with whatever changes people think would help it or test/clarify any problems people come across. So, without further adieu:

Requirements:

• FileZilla Server
• FileZilla Client(most suggested but other ftp clients will work)
• Home LAN setup with administrative abilities over your router(optional for internet server)

Download:



Navigate to http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/ and select the "Download" option from the right. Then select the server option. You may then choose either the Windows executable if you intend to run the machine from a Windows environment or the platform independent version if you plan to run it on any version of Linux/Unix or Macintosh.

Installation:

Installation is pretty quick. There is a few key options that you should make that vary depend based on how you intend to run this machine so i'll explain each briefly as I come to it.



At this point, you can make any options you see fit but I do suggest setting up the administrative interface as it makes the administration far more simple from the local machine and it takes up little to no extra space.

If you are installing this to simply administer a server(i.e. having multiple admins on, say, an in-home file server)you will only need to install the administration interface.



Here you will decide how you would like to install the FTP service. I have chosen to install it as a service operated manually. This is really a preference as I don't like anything on my computer to really start on its own. However, if you intend to run this on a remote machine that will have no real other use, you might want to set this as a remote service started automatically in case of a reboot. You can, of course, also set it to simply run on demand.

Additionally, this is the port that you will specify the remote administration port. It is best to leave it at its default value but if, for some reason, you would like to use another port: specify it now. Be sure to forward that port correctly as well(covered later).

Running FileZilla Server:



When you start up FileZilla Server it will ask you what server you would like to administrate.

If the machine is local: use the settings above making sure to specify the right port.

If the machine is remote: specify the IP and port.

Settings:

Select Edit > Settings and look into some of the changes.



Here you can leave pretty much default. My only suggestions are to change some of the timeout options if you don't want/need users to be disconnected. Also, change the Listen Port now if the server will be accepting client requests on some OTHER port. Again, be sure to reflect this change in your port forwarding options.



Nothing much here EXCEPT to set an admin password for your server. Be sure to set it to something you don't mind sharing if you intend to have multiple admins but make it secure enough that anyone who knows about your server can't gain access to the administrative rights.



This seems to be the part where most people stumble in their setup and I am not sure why. This is fairly basic and doesn't require nearly as much concern as most people give it. If you are behind a firewall/router that operates under NAT: select "Use the following IP:" and enter in your IP into the field.

Also, you will have to forward a range of ports for passive users to use. The FileZilla FAQ suggests 5000-5100 and I will go with this as well. Unless there is a problem with this number, use it. Make sure to set this as a range inside your router.

Users & Groups:

This is pretty basic stuff so I'll keep it brief. You will want to create groups to manage users but its not needed. It makes the sharing of a single file over multiple users easier. I'll start with making groups:



Pretty simple: make the appropriate group and fill in any needed information.



This is the gravy of the section. Set up which ever files you intend to share. These files will be accessible by ANYONE in the group, so add files carefully and add users even more carefully. In my example with admins: i will want admins to be able to have full permissions on the files so that new stuff can be added and old stuff removed.

Now for specific users:



Now we can add a user and give him group membership. Be sure to set this carefully as it will determine the access to particular files across groups. If you add a user to a group, that groups selected home directory will become the users home directory.



We can now add files/folders for the user. Be sure to set a home directory and set up an aliases(Linux/Unix). This is a bit more advanced and I suggest trying to share all the stuff you intend to share in a single folder to simplify things.

How do aliases work?
Let's assume you have two shared folders: c:\ftproot is your homedir and d:\myfiles is the second one. In order to display an alias to d:\myfiles in your homedir, add c:\ftproot\myalias as alias to d:\myfiles. A new folder with the name myalias will apear in your homedir with the contents of d:\myfiles
Source

Port Forwarding & Ranges:

See this site: http://www.portforward.com/english/r...outerindex.htm

Be sure to forward these ports(following this guide):

• 5000-5100 (passive range)
• 21 (listen)
• 14147 (admin interface)

Also, if you are operating behind a Windows based firewall add port 21 and the filezilla server executable to the exceptions list.

Conclusion:

There it is. This is your basic startup guide to getting a FileZilla Server on its feet. Please post questions and any suggestions I could make here. I'll try to keep this up-to-date with answers to more commonly asked questions

Last Update: 05/18/09 (updated link to alias source information)

[DSwarP]

"If the machine is remote: specify the IP and port."

Would that be your (the host) computer's external IP address?

[Fourth]

Originally Posted by DSwarP

"If the machine is remote: specify the IP and port."

Would that be your (the host) computer's external IP address?

It depends, if its inside your LAN, whatever the LAN IP is. Otherwise, the machine IP and port external IP.

[AntiNazi]

Originally Posted by DSwarP

"If the machine is remote: specify the IP and port."

Would that be your (the host) computer's external IP address?

The way filezilla works is that it runs that actual daemon, and then the gui is totally separate and you use it to administer the server. You can use the gui on your machine to admin the server running in your basement. Basically, put in any IP that your machine can use to connect to the machine the server is on.

Server specific

1. I've just installed the server and after starting the interface, it asks for a server address.
Despite administrating the server on the local machine, the interface can also be used to administrate remote servers. But you will most likely want to administrate your local server. In this case enter 127.0.0.1 as server address. For the server port, you have to enter the same port number you did specify during installation for the admin port. (default: 14147)

RTFM

[MrObvious]

STICKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pimpinaman]

excellent guide

[digitaldd]

Great work but I really don't think you want to forward the port you setup the admin interface for filezilla on unless you want to be able to administer the server remotely from any internet connected machine. I know you would be asked for the password but why add an extra attack vector to your internal network.

if you do need to administer the server remotely from the internet make sure you use a secure password.

just my 2 cents..

[AntiNazi]

Originally Posted by digitaldd

Great work but I really don't think you want to forward the port you setup the admin interface for filezilla on unless you want to be able to administer the server remotely from any internet connected machine. I know you would be asked for the password but why add an extra attack vector to your internal network.

if you do need to administer the server remotely from the internet make sure you use a secure password.

just my 2 cents..

I have to agree.

[pimpinaman]

any tips for protecting the ftp server once it's up? A friend of mine helped me set-up filezilla server on one of my PCs a while back and I had someone trying to get access to it within 2 hours.

[AntiNazi]

Originally Posted by pimpinaman

any tips for protecting the ftp server once it's up? A friend of mine helped me set-up filezilla server on one of my PCs a while back and I had someone trying to get access to it within 2 hours.

Thats going to happen with any thing you run on the internet these days. Strong passwords is probably the best thing. There may be a way to limit the number of login attempts for a user or address, not sure, I don't have filezilla installed at the moment.

[Fourth]

Originally Posted by digitaldd

Great work but I really don't think you want to forward the port you setup the admin interface for filezilla on unless you want to be able to administer the server remotely from any internet connected machine. I know you would be asked for the password but why add an extra attack vector to your internal network.

if you do need to administer the server remotely from the internet make sure you use a secure password.

I would have to also agree, but I figured I would mention it for completions sake. I would suggest that anyone who sets up ANY machine to be on the internet use a secure password.

Additional Comment:

Originally Posted by pimpinaman

any tips for protecting the ftp server once it's up? A friend of mine helped me set-up filezilla server on one of my PCs a while back and I had someone trying to get access to it within 2 hours.

my suggestion is to block requests from all IPs save the ones you want to connect. yes, this involves getting your friend's IPs and keeping them up-to-date but this will be the most secure method; until the attacker spoofs his IP to one that matches your friends(**** near impossible), but then he has to get passed the password which, if its secure, should be neigh impossible.

[DSwarP]

Well, I followed the guide, and I still cant get it to work. I feel like a complete noobtron.

[Fourth]

Originally Posted by DSwarP

Well, I followed the guide, and I still cant get it to work. I feel like a complete noobtron.

what exactly is the problem? you try to connect and there is just no action?

perhaps some screenshots of your settings and such will help us figure out the problem. the guide is pretty much totally accurate as AN and I did a bunch of testing on FZ Server to figure out how aliases work.

[DSwarP]

Ok, I'll reinstall and show you my process...

EDIT: The yellow blocks in the two screen show the same IP, which is the external IP (same as the IP from www.whatismyip.org)

[DSwarP]

AntiNazi just spend like 2 hours with me trying to figure it out. We almost got it, and I have it set up and its working, but now when people connect it wont really work. It gives this error: 425 Can't open data connection. Any ideas?

[MrObvious]

You have 2 FTPs going to mozart??? Why?

[Zer010]

Does filezilla have support for webpages built in? I would like to buy a domain name and setup a web portal any help would be greatly appreciated

[dygital]

Sticky FTW

[Fourth]

Originally Posted by Zer010

Does filezilla have support for webpages built in? I would like to buy a domain name and setup a web portal any help would be greatly appreciated

Filezilla has no relation to webpages at all save that is can set up a server that can be accessed from web clients(ftp://xxxxxx). Otherwise, filezilla won't help you at all with anything web related.

If you wanna make your filezilla server accessible from the web, just forward the ports(if you are behind the router)and share the IP with whomever.

[jeremy]

I worked with Filezilla @ work...

I managed to host every computer's shared drive on one computer..

I forget how I did it, but it wasnt really hard...

It took me alot of searching, maybe I should find it and contribute?

Filezilla FTP servers are great